


Where Angels Fear to Tread

by banditess



Category: Pacific Rim (2013), Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Drift Compatibility, Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju (Pacific Rim), Multi, Pan Pacific Defense Corps, Recreational Drug Use, The Drift (Pacific Rim)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4263063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banditess/pseuds/banditess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seems to me that being a Sensate is a lot like being Drift compatible. You knew this AU would happen eventually.</p><p> I had to write this. I have no idea where it is going, or if it is even going anywhere at all...but I hope you'll join me for the ride. :)</p><p> </p><p>*Previously titled "Wise Men Say, Only Fools Rush In"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Anniversary to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> For my husband: my Drift partner, my co-pilot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley and Will were really excited to start their new lives as husband and wife...but then a dimensional rift opened in the Pacific Ocean.

Will Gorski always wakes up 7 minutes before his wife. He likes to watch her sleep, in the reverent way people who are deeply in love do. He watches the rise-and-fall rhythm of her breath, brushes an errant strand of electric blue hair out of her face, and wonders how he got to be so lucky in the midst of so much misfortune in the world.

* * *

Riley married him on August 10th, 2013. It’s the easiest anniversary date to remember, because of what happened. Each year, he recalls the scene: the ceremony took place under clear blue skies, the temperature surprisingly pleasant for late summer in Chicago, he in his tux and she in her white gown. Gunnar, Riley’s father, flew in from Iceland to be there, with Sven and a few close friends from the symphony in tow. A handful of Riley’s DJ buddies from her time in the London club scene also managed to cross the pond for her special day. As for the groom’s side, Will was fairly certain his father had invited the entire precinct. He felt a little uncomfortable about the imbalance of having so many more guests than Riley, but she reassured him that as long as her father was there, she didn’t care who was absent.

At the reception, Gunnar surprised them all. Riley and Will took the floor for their first dance, but instead of playing the song they had planned to dance to, the room was silent. Will took a breath to ask the DJ to move it along when he heard the faint sounds of a piano coming from the far end of the banquet hall. The piano grew louder and the guests parted to reveal Gunnar, who had called ahead to the venue to make sure he would have an instrument to play, and asked the DJ to allow him to play first. After a few well-placed arpeggios to get the crowd’s attention, Gunnar launched into a stirring rendition of “Fools Rush In,” smiling proudly at his daughter, who promptly burst into tears. Will held her face in his hands and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. Then, he backed up a step and held out his hand to her, bowing slightly. She took it, and he pulled her close to him. They danced for the rest of the song, their guests melting into the background as they gazed into one another’s eyes.

It wasn’t until Riley and Will were standing at the terminal at O’Hare, ready to fly to San Francisco en route to Honolulu for their honeymoon (Riley wanted to go someplace _warm_ for once in her life), that they realized the world had turned upside-down while they were busy getting hitched. The trouble was, they could no longer fly to SFO, because SFO no longer existed. In fact, _the entire city of San Francisco_ no longer existed. The newlyweds stood silently among a group of other waylaid travelers, all gathered around the TV screen watching the news footage of some kind of _giant monster_ on a rampage in the Bay. They watched with horror as the thing tore through the Golden Gate bridge like finish line tape at a marathon, sending hundreds of innocents to watery deaths in an instant. It took five days and three nuclear missiles to stop the creature, which some scientist or military official or something had taken to calling a _kaiju_. The name stuck. Later, they dubbed that first appearance “K-Day.” It’s hard to forget a wedding anniversary like that, when the happiest day of your life turns to so much grief.

That night, they went home to their tiny apartment and sat with each other in the darkness. Neither of them could bear to turn on the lights. In an attempt to calm down, Riley rolled herself a joint by moonlight from a dimebag carefully smuggled as a wedding gift from her dodgy but well-meaning London friends. They had wanted her to be stoned while hiking Mauna Kea, for some reason. Meanwhile, Will tortured himself thinking about how many lives had been lost, wondering how many could have been saved.

When the Jaeger Program launched, and the PPDC came to Chicago looking for suitable people to become Rangers, Will Gorski was one of the first people in line for testing. He and Riley had argued at length about it in the weeks prior. Will finally convinced her to let him go when he told her that he was actually more likely to die in the line of duty as a cop on the streets of Chicago than as a Jaeger pilot. What he didn’t tell her was that deep down he _needed_ this, needed to help people like he needed air in his lungs. Why settle for helping just the people of Chicago, when you could make a difference to _the whole world_?

So Riley let him go, but there was one catch: she wanted to come with him. It was no secret that Jaegers required at least two pilots in order to function, to share the massive neural strain of moving a giant robot. The recruitment information the PPDC published stated that they were particularly interested in pairs or trios with strong blood ties or chosen bonds -- parents and children, best friends, siblings, _people in long-term, committed relationships_. Riley was terrified, to be sure, but she said she would feel better about the whole thing if they were in it together, looking out for one another.

That was how they ended up dancing in front of a panel of PPDC Officers and J-Tech scientists. They had a few options for activities to test their Drift compatibility: co-operative video games, martial arts sparring matches, or dancing. Dancing was the only thing that both of them were sure they could do. They danced twice; first, without any kind of equipment except human eyes observing their movements, then again, with receptors to monitor brain function stuck to their heads. Both times, Will and Riley looked straight into one another’s eyes, let the lab coats and military uniforms melt into the background, and remembered their wedding, and the gift of music Gunnar had given them.

The very chatty J-Tech scientist who spoke with them afterwards was extremely excited to share the results of their test. She went on and on, showing them the readings and explaining at breakneck speed what they measured.

“Whoa, slow down there, friend. I’m a cop, not a quantum physicist,” Will said. “Can you give it to me in layman’s terms?”

“Oh! Uh, yes, of course!” said the scientist, pushing her glasses a little higher onto her nose. “The readings suggest that the two of you are very well synchronized. I mean, anyone who watched you dancing could see that, but we had to make sure you were neurally in tune as well. And you are! Isn’t that wonderful? So few people are Drift compatible -- it’s just _remarkable_ whenever we find a couple like you. If you’re both ready to join up, I can go grab the paperwork to get you enrolled at the Academy. Oh, but of course if you need a few minutes to think about it…”

Riley took his hand and squeezed it tightly, “We don’t need to think about it. This is the right thing to do. Go get the paperwork, please.”

Will smiled at her, returning the hand-squeeze. He knew he had married this woman for a reason.

* * *

Riley’s alarm clock finally goes off, marking the end of Will’s daily 7-minute vigil. Sleepily, she reaches over to the standard-issue nightstand, turns off the standard-issue alarm clock, and rolls over under their standard-issue blankets to kiss her husband.

“Good morning, Ranger,” she says. This is the start of their morning routine.

“Good morning, Ranger,” he answers.

“Is it time to go to work already?” she says.

“Kaiju wait for no man...or woman, my love.” He kisses her again.

“Just five more minutes?” she groans.

In response, he reaches over her and sets the standard-issue alarm clock to go off in ten minutes, then positions himself so that she can snuggle against him. They doze there together, stealing a few moments of normalcy before breakfast at the Shatterdome mess hall, where they will be reminded for the ten thousandth time that everything changed on the day they wed.


	2. Take a Deep Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranger Lito needs to have a talk with Chief Officer Hernando. It's important.

The part Lito loves best about being a Jaeger Ranger is the fame. No matter where you go in the world, if you’re a Ranger, you will never have to buy your own drinks. It happens every time Lito is able to get out of the Shatterdome. He goes to a bar, sits down at the counter, and a regular a few stools down will inevitably look over and say, “Hey, ain’t you a Jaeger pilot?” To which he always responds, “Actually, we’re called Rangers,” with his most charming smile. Then the regular will smile back and call out to the bartender, “Get this man a double shot, put it on my tab!” Sometimes, the regular will ask for stories from the battlefield, and Lito obliges, regaling whoever cares to listen with dramatic retellings of putting down Kaiju from one end of the Pacific to the other, like a bard of olden days.

Tonight is a little different, however. Tonight Lito comes into the bar with the hood of his jacket pulled up over his head. He takes a seat in an empty booth at the back. A few minutes later, another hooded man walks in, taking the seat across from Lito in the booth. They both scoot over towards the wall, as far away from prying eyes as possible.

“You weren’t followed, were you?” Lito asks the man across from him.

“Honestly, Lito. You think I don’t know how to cover my tracks by now? How long have we been seeing each other?” the man puts his hands under the table and reaches for Lito. Lito takes his hands and holds them tenderly.

“You’re right, Hernando. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. Now what did you want to talk to me about?”

Lito has been practicing this speech in his head for almost a week now, but the words are still slow to come to him. What he says now, and his lover’s reaction to it, might change the course of his life forever.

“Hernando, you are the love of my life. Everything I do, I do for you. I want you to know that. Which is why I want to ask you tonight for your permission.”

“Permission? Permission for what?”

“I have been thinking a lot lately. And I decided that I am tired of having to meet you like this, Hernando. In shadows, with our hands under the table where no one can see. I’m tired of denying my feelings and hiding them away. I am not ashamed to be with you, my love. I want to stop acting like I am. I want your permission...I want your permission to be the world’s first openly gay Ranger.”

Hernando takes his hands from Lito’s grip under the table, and leans back against the booth. He looks stricken. He takes off his glasses and wipes his eyes, and Lito starts to panic. _Ay Dios mío_ , he thinks, _I have really blown it this time_.

After what feels to Lito like an eternity of sniffling and tear-wiping, Hernando finds his voice again.

“Oh, Lito. I have been waiting so long to hear you say those words to me. Of course. Of course I give you permission. We will face whatever consequences come our way, together.”

He places one hand on top of the table and reaches out for Lito. Lito takes his lover’s hand with both of his, and gently brings it to his lips for a kiss. Relief washes over him like a tidal wave.

“I just have one question, Lito.”

“Anything, my love.”

“What does Wolfgang think about all of this? I assume you two have, um, Drifted on it.”

“Wolfgang has known for a long time that I wanted this. Longer than I knew it myself, I think. It’s hard to keep secrets from your Drift partner. Even when they are secrets you are keeping from yourself.”

“This will affect him, too, you know. People will ask questions.”

“I know. But you know Wolfgang. Serious as the day is long. I trust him to be able to stand up for himself...and for us, if it is necessary.”

“And what about Marshal Maliki? I seem to recall something about restrictions on ‘inter-departmental fraternization’ in the PPDC code of conduct...”

“I will speak with him first thing in the morning, and pray that he doesn’t feed me to the next Kaiju out of the Breach.”

Hernando beams at Lito, and Lito thinks that whatever happens, it will have been worth it to see that beautiful smile.

* * *

The next morning, Lito wakes up half an hour earlier than usual and spends nearly twenty of those minutes staring at himself in the mirror.

“You can do this,” he says to Mirror Lito, putting on confidence like a mask. “Everything will work out just fine. The Marshal will be very happy. He definitely will not discharge you at the very mention of wanting to come out.”

He thinks about this possibility for a minute and gulps nervously.

“Lito,” he imagines Mirror Lito saying to him, “you fight giant monsters with radioactive blood for a living, and _this_ is what makes you anxious? Please. This is nothing. And remember, this is not just for you. Do it for _him_. For Hernando.”

Lito squares his jaw, sets his teeth, and nods at Mirror Lito. “Let’s do this.”

He finds Marshal Jonas Maliki in the mess hall eating alone, as he normally does. He approaches the Marshal hesitantly, white-knuckling his breakfast tray.

“Good morning, sir,” says Lito.

Maliki looks up from his bowl of standard-issue corn flakes. He’s not used to being interrupted during mealtime. “Can I assist you with something, Ranger?”

_Yikes._

“Well, actually, sir, yes. Permission to sit with you, sir?”

Maliki pauses momentarily, as though sizing Lito up. He motions toward the empty bench.

Lito puts his tray down on the table and sits across from the Marshal. “Sir, there’s an issue I have been meaning to discuss with you for some time now and --”

“If it’s the fact that you and Chief Officer Castillo are an item, the cat has been out of the bag for some time now, I’m afraid.”

Lito can’t help but feel a little deflated -- he expected more of a fight? He pauses before speaking again. “You...already knew?”

The Marshal takes a sip of his coffee. “I know everything that goes on inside my Shatterdome. It’s my duty to know.”

“If you already knew, how is it that Hernando...that Chief Officer Castillo and I haven’t been discharged for fraternization?”

“Because, Ranger,” Maliki looks at him seriously, “we live in a time when the world could end, quite literally, any day now. Who cares who is in bed with whom, when we could all die tomorrow? The way I see it, as long as both of you don’t let your _fraternization_ get in the way of your responsibilities to the people of this planet, I see no reason to forbid it.”

Lito is quiet for a moment, letting the Marshal’s words sink in. Letting himself feel a little bit of hope. Okay, a lot of hope.

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. And I know Hernando does, too.”

Maliki acknowledges Lito’s gratitude with a nod. “Was there anything else, Ranger?”

“Yes, sir, there was. Seeing as how you are okay with us being together...I, ah, well,” he clears his throat nervously. “What if I told you that I wanted to go public with our relationship, sir?”

Maliki puts down his mug and opens his mouth to answer, but the sound of klaxons blaring in alarm interrupt. He calmly shouts over them instead. “Suit up, Ranger.”

Lito stands and salutes. He tries not to let the disappointment show on his face as he makes haste to get to the Drivesuit Room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry -- Lito will get his answer from the Marshal in the next chapter. I just didn't want this one to get too long. Thank you for reading, and thanks for all of your Kudos and Comments! I feel so loved. :')
> 
> As of the writing of this fic, Hernando doesn't have a canon surname...so I gave him one mostly at random. I'll change it whenever we find out what it really is.
> 
> And in case you were wondering about the piano solo Gunnar played at Riley and Will's wedding last chapter, this is kind of how I imagined it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsHFDXKmAU0
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
